


Ember Island

by capuberra



Series: Avatar AU [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capuberra/pseuds/capuberra
Summary: Oikawa takes Iwa up on his offer to get away to Ember Island, only to run into the very person he was trying to get away from.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Avatar AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860412
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Ember Island

**Author's Note:**

> For a friend who wanted avatarverse Iwaoi  
> Set before the first work in the series

Oikawa took a deep breath, holding his first two fingers together as he raised his hands. He tried to feel the chi around him as he exhaled. They were deep in a blazing Fire Nation summer and the air was buzzing with energy from the baking sun. He started moving his arms in a circle motion, inhaling and exhaling steadily. He had to pull the energy apart, separating positive from negative, and provide it with release. That was how Sifu Kazuyo had explained lightning bending, at least, but so far Oikawa hadn’t been able to conjure more than a few sparks. Heat pricked the back of his neck and his breathing started to speed up.

He reminded himself to stay calm, but memories kept tugging at his concentration. More than his past failures, the events of that week’s classes had gotten stubbornly under his skin. It was all because of the stupid Avatar. Usually he was gone during the summer, disappearing up north to visit family and train with waterbenders. But for some reason he’d delayed his trip until the fall that year and just like that Oikawa's Kageyama-free oasis had dried up. Little Tobio, once just the twerp in the training group below him, was now a major thorn in his side. Oikawa had never seen someone evolve so quickly as a bender, the precocious little shit.

_“You’re a natural!”_

The words rang in his head, boiling his blood. He didn’t blame their instructor— despite being the Avatar’s grandfather, Kazuyo didn’t play favorites in class when it came to attention or praise. It was the fact that it was truethat pissed Oikawa off so much. It was that truth that pushed him to master lightning bending. He would surpass Kageyama, no matter how hard he had to work. No matter what.

His attention was suddenly and violently brought back to the present. He’d lost his focus just at the moment when the energy in the air began to rip apart, and the consequences were explosive. Oikawa was thrown onto his back, dazed and singed and fuming.

“Dammit,” he muttered. Nothing felt actually injured, but he knew he’d be sore the next day. He let his head fall back against the ground with a groan.

A familiar voice sounded from above him. “Hey.” Oikawa’s eyes fluttered open. Iwaizumi was silhouetted against the sun above him, holding out his hand. “I thought I told you not to overwork yourself. Everyone else went home an hour ago.” He helped Oikawa up and pulled the towel from around his neck to wipe off the soot coating his face.

“Please tell me this isn’t your sweat rag from practice. That’s gross, Iwa,” Oikawa said with a smirk, his frustrations immediately starting to fade away under Iwaizumi’s touch. It was a scene that had repeated itself countless times since childhood; Toru was overzealous, getting himself scraped up, and Hajime was always there to lecture as he bandaged him up.

Iwaizumi scowled. “No, asshole, it’s clean.” He threw the towel over his shoulder, gently holding Oikawa’s chin and turning his face side to side as if inspecting it. Apparently satisfied, he said, “C’mon, I’m gonna be late.”

Twenty minutes later Oikawa was seated in a bright, clean tea shop watching Iwa wait tables. He didn’t really understand Iwa’s part-time job, it’s not like his parents wouldn’t give him money (and his aunt owned the place anyway), but he respected Iwa’s desire for independence. Besides, he seemed to enjoy working there. At first Oikawa was surprised to see how well Iwaizumi got on with the elderly patrons that populated the shop. But when he considered it, it actually made perfect sense— Iwaizumi was basically a grumpy old man himself.

Once the other tables were taken care of, Iwa sat across from him and set down a steaming cup of jasmine tea. He gave Oikawa a serious look. “I told you not to overwork yourself,” he repeated, “You’re going to get hurt.”

Oikawa met his eyes for a long moment before looking away. “I hate geniuses,” he huffed.

As always, Iwa immediately understood. “And what, you think you’ll finally surpass Kageyama by blowing yourself up? Great plan.”

“You don’t get it, Iwa! I just wanna-” Oikawa mimed a strangling motion before forcing himself to take a long, slow sip of his tea.

“Look, I don’t like him either-” Iwaizumi made a face as he remembered the most recent of his defeats at the Avatar’s hands- “But you can’t let him rile you up like this.” He tapped his serving tray against the table, his eyes lighting up as an idea came to him. “I know! We should take a break, go somewhere to get your mind off it, recharge. My uncle’s family is on Ember Island right now, we can join them for the week.”

“A beach holiday? It has been awhile since I’ve gone out there.” A smile spread over Oikawa’s face. He reached over and tugged at the sleeve of Iwaizumi’s uniform, rolled up close to the shoulder. “Maybe you can finally even out that farmer’s tan you’ve been cultivating all summer.”

Iwa slapped his hand away.”I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, standing up, “I’ll let Sifu Kazuyo know we’ll be missing lessons and we can leave tomorrow.”

He turned to go but Oikawa grabbed onto his tunic front. “Hey Iwa,” his smile slipped into something sly, his tone teasing, “You look cute in that apron, y’know. I like a working man.” He leaned toward him with flashing eyes.

“Ugh,” Iwa made a disgusted noise but his face was bright red. He furtively glanced around to make sure none of the customers were looking before he stooped to give Oikawa a quick kiss on the lips. He had learned to be shrewd about showing his affection in the tea shop— once the old folks got started about the “little lovebirds,” they never fucking stopped. And of course Oikawa was only too happy to encourage them. He played the sappy old ladies like a fiddle, the freak. “Now finish your tea and go pack. And if you show up tomorrow with more than two suitcases I’m gonna kill you.”

Four suitcases and a day’s journey later, Oikawa was stretched out on the beach letting his worries be swept away like sand in the tide. Earlier they’d wandered through a street fair downtown and ended up joining a bending demonstration. Iwaizumi did his patented fire eating trick and Oikawa had stolen the show with his classic ‘tame the dragon’ move. Oikawa smiled. It was nice, firebending for fun instead of for training. And of course, getting swarmed by adoring onlookers wasn’t half bad either. Iwa made his cute little jealous face and called him “Shittykawa” for the next hour, but they got an invite to a local party out of it so he couldn’t stay mad for long.

Iwaizumi shaded his eyes to glare at him. “What’re you smiling about? Still basking in your little superstar moment earlier?”

Sometimes Iwaizumi’s psychic abilities scared him. “No,” Oikawa lied, reaching to comb back Iwa’s wet, sandy hair, “Just happy to be here with you. This was a good idea, Iwa.”

Iwa knew he was lying about the first part, of course, but there was such a gentle sincerity in the way Oikawa said “with you” that he was taken off guard. He turned on his side to face Oikawa on the beach towel, laying his hand on his boyfriend’s waist. “I’m just glad you listened to me for once,” he mumbled. He looked into the pair of familiar brown eyes and saw an infinite softness that he knew was only for him. Their lips met in a kiss salty like the sea, and for a second they were the only two people on the sunny island.

The sun was hanging low over the horizon when they finally trudged back to Iwaizumi’s family beach house. Iwa enjoyed the familiar comfort of watching the sun set over the ocean, savoring the wind in his hair and the warm arm around him, but he knew if they were going to make it to that party before it ended he had to leave ample time for Oikawa’s pampering routine. 

After a cool bath to wash off the sand off he noticed with annoyance that his face and shoulders were covered in stinging red sunburn. Iwa tried to play it off when Oikawa noticed, but he would have none of that— it was rare he got to be the one doing the healing and lecturing, so of course he seized the opportunity. After a fair bit of arguing Iwaizumi was pushed down onto a stool while Oikawa, in all his accursed sun-bronzed glory, circled him with a jar of aloe. Iwa kept quiet while Oikawa tsked and hummed about how he needed to be more careful in the sun, not wanting to admit how good his cooling, gentle touch felt. His control slipped for a second when he dabbed some onto the burnt skin of his cheek, and a small moan of relief escaped as he exhaled. His eyes flew open but, mercifully, Oikawa simply snickered.

They left later than they planned, as Iwa’s little cousins were just as hard to peel off Toru as his little sisters, but he was assured that they were only fashionably late. The host didn’t seem to mind as he ushered them into the large, ornate house typical of the Ember Island elite. 

“These are the guys I told you about,” the boy called to the group at large, “The amazing firebenders we saw at the festival!” Hands quickly dragged them to the center of the party and inundated them with food, drinks, and questions. They recognized a few faces from their many summers on the island, but Iwa and Oikawa were surprised to spot two very familiar faces across the room.

“Kindaichi! Kyotani!” Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa away from a group of fawning girls as he waved down their friends from bending class. Kindaichi greeted them enthusiastically but Kyotani simply nodded. “Are you guys down here with your families, too?”

The two boys exchanged looks. “Sort of,” Kindaichi said, “My sister’s living here this summer, but, um, Sifu Kazuyo wanted everyone from the advanced class to come. Like, on a retreat.” 

Oikawa’s face soured. “You mean, _everyone_?” 

A wave of murmurs rose from the crowd as the front door opened and shut. Oikawa whipped around-

“Oh fuck me.”

Standing at the front of the party, looking like a rubber band about to snap, was the one and only Avatar Kageyama. Next to him, looking like he’d rather be wrestling a saber-tooth moose lion, was Kunimi. 

“Why the hell did he have to bring Kageyama?” Iwaizumi grumbled. 

Someone next to them perked up and stuck his head in their circle. “Wait, do you guys know the Avatar? That’s so cool!”

Oikawa looked ready to set the guy on fire but Iwa made a face and said flatly, “It’s not that great.”

The boy, apparently eager for gossip, looked around them and said in a dramatic whisper, “So is it true what the papers say about him? My friend tried to get his autograph in Republic City once and said he was really rude...”

Just then, Kunimi and Kageyama walked up behind them. The kid squeaked a little when he made eye contact with Kageyama and practically ran away. Before they had even greeted each other Kunimi said, almost like an apology, “Our parents wanted me to take him out for the night.”

“Hey,” was all Kageyama said. Iwaizumi and Kindaichi smiled weakly but Oikawa glared and Kyotani scoffed. 

“I’m gonna go get another drink.” Oikawa shoved his full cup into Iwa’s hands and stalked away. 

“Toru-” Iwaizumi wove through the crowd after him, catching him by the elbow. 

Oikawa wheeled around with a scowl on his face. “Why is he even here, just to ruin my vacation?”

Iwa rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s the only reason he’s here.”

“Can’t you, I dunno, beat him up or something for me?” He spun Iwa around by his shoulders and gave him a shove. “Sic ‘em, boy!”

Iwaizumi apologized to the person he’d stumbled into before turning on Oikawa. “Watch it or it’s gonna be your ass I’m kicking-” He tried to sound threatening but he caved quickly, sighing and grabbing his boyfriend’s hand. “Can we just pretend like he’s not here? He’ll get swarmed by Avatar fans soon- let them deal with him.”

Oikawa reluctantly agreed. Of course, Iwaizumi was right and Kageyama had been pulled into a crowd of curious party-goers by the time they returned to the group. Oikawa tried to let it go after a few gleeful comments and focus instead on enjoying the night with Iwa and their friends; but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t stop his eyes from flitting to Kageyama. Glad as he was that the Avatar was out of their hair, the sight of him surrounded by elated faces set Oikawa on edge. Every time he looked over he was reminded that however much he trained, however much he worked himself to the bone, he could never match up. Even if someone admired his display of bending, it was immediately forgotten when the _Avatar_ showed up. 

He knew Iwa would call him immature, but Oikawa kept stewing and by the end of the evening his mood was decidedly soured. Unfortunately that’s when Kageyama, apparently seeking out familiar faces in the sea of strangers, came over to talk to them.

Everyone else was content enough to chat about their training, what Kazuyo had planned for the retreat, the upcoming pro-bending season, but Oikawa stayed uncharacteristically silent. Then Kageyama turned to him and said, “I heard my grandfather is teaching you lightning bending. Once you get it could you show me some techniques?”

It was the last straw. Something in his expression, the hungry glint in his eye, made Oikawa snap. He clenched his fist, crushing his plastic cup. “Are you joking? Why would I waste my time teaching a conceited shithead like you?”

Kageyama blinked at the sudden outburst.

Kyotani grinned, muttering, “You’re calling _him_ conceited?” Kunimi elbowed him.

“Whoa,” Iwa put his hand on Oikawa’s arm, “C’mon Toru, don’t-”

“No, no-” Oikawa brushed him off, jabbing a finger in Kageyama’s face. “I’m sick of your attitude. You think you’re so much better than everyone else, like we should be honored just to be in your presence?” People around them were starting to stare. “Then prove it. Now.”

Kageyama’s face darkened into that stupid scowl, like he smelled something foul. “Like a fight?”

“Oikawa, you can’t be serious,” Kindaichi cut in, looking nervously between them.

Iwaizumi leaned close to his ear and muttered, “Are you crazy? He’s the _Avatar_.” 

“Like I said, I don’t give a shit.” He kept his scathing gaze on Kageyama.

“Fine.” Kageyama was starting to look excited. Spirits, it pissed him off. “An agni kai.” A wave of shock rippled through the party as everyone realized what was going on.

“Not quite.” Oikawa planted his hands on his hips. “I want you to come at me with everything you’ve got. Fire andwater.”

The other boys looked over at Iwaizumi, expecting him to step in again, but Iwa shook his head. Sometimes even he couldn’t stop Oikawa from doing something stupid.

The host came over, looking stricken. “Y-You guys aren’t gonna do that in here, right? My parents would kill me-”

Oikawa flashed him a charming smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll take it outside. My friend here needs to be by the water anyway, right, Tobio?" He turned on his heel and went for the door, Kageyama close behind.

Iwa sighed. He bowed to the host, thanking him for the party and apologizing for the idiocy before jogging after his boyfriend. The rest of Kazuyo’s pupils followed after a second, as did most of the party, and gathered under the lantern light of the poor host’s private beach. 

Iwa studied Oikawa’s face as his boyfriend shrugged off the long sash draped over his shoulder and handed it to him. He looked surprisingly calm, like the rash anger of his outburst had shaped itself into something sharp and focused. 

“Don’t try to talk me out of this, Iwa,” Oikawa said with flashing eyes.

“We both know it’s no use trying to get anything through that thick skull of yours.” He sighed and kissed Oikawa on the cheek. “Just remember your basics on the sand, okay? And don’t get hurt, or I’ll kill you before Kazuyo or your mom even have a chance.”

Oikawa nodded and turned to face his opponent. They shifted into ready stances and slowly circled each other. The crowd fell silent, holding its breath. Finally Kageyama made the opening move, attacking head on with a stream of water. Oikawa smiled. He dug into the sand and unleashed a burst of blue flame, turning the water to steam. Gasps and murmurs rose from the onlookers. 

Their duel wasn’t over quickly. Even with Kageyama using two elements they were evenly matched, much to Oikawa’s satisfaction, but it was a bitter fight in the sand. He had to work twice as hard to counter the Avatar’s advantage from being by the ocean and he could feel his energy draining quickly. When he was thrown onto his back by a blast of water for the third time, all he could remember was the fleeting feeling of hopelessness that had come over him trying to lightningbend. But when he was a second from giving up and laying back in the sand, Iwaizumi’s voice echoed across the beach. 

“Get up, dammit! The past doesn’t matter, just focus on the opponent in front of you!”

Oikawa smiled, almost laughing to himself, and forced his body up. Kageyama attacked him with water again, but this time Oikawa was ready and dodged it. Suddenly his mind felt clear, his energy focused— he knew what he had to do to win. 

The evening wind had picked up and the sand shifted even more beneath his feet, but Oikawa pressed stubbornly forward. He took a deep breath and thought back to the warm-ups he had done countless times in the courtyard of Kazuyo’s school. In a wide stance, Oikawa moved down and out as he exhaled, sending a wave of fire low over the sand. Kageyama jumped back to dodge but Oikawa kept going, pushing relentlessly until he saw his opportunity. In the second his adversary’s footing faltered Oikawa punched a powerful fireball at his head. Ducking to avoid it, Kageyama lost his balance and fell into the sand. He grabbed wildly with one arm to try and counter with a water attack but Oikawa was standing over him in an instant, his fist pointing at Kageyama’s throat

Oikawa smirked. He’d be savoring the look in the Avatar’s eyes for awhile. “Better luck next time, Tobio,” he said. 

And just like that it was over.

As he walked back toward Iwaizumi a mix of disbelieving whispers and cheers rose from the crowd. Oikawa gave them a little wave and tugged his sash off Iwa’s shoulders, motioning for him to follow. 

“You’re not even going to thank the host after all that? You’re the worst,” Iwa grumbled, climbing up the dunes beside him. 

Oikawa ran a hand through his hair, winking at him. “Oh Iwa, not even you can spoil my mood right now.” He hummed happily as they walked along, partly from petty satisfaction and partly from genuine pride. He grabbed Iwaizumi’s hand but when his boyfriend wouldn’t look at him or do more than grunt he started jabbing him on the arm. “What, Iwa, you’re not even gonna call me Crappykawa? Yell at me for being reckless? Immature?” His grin widened. “Or are you just jealous that _I_ kicked the Avatar’s ass in front of a whole crowd?”

Iwaizumi stopped suddenly. “You are crappy. And reckless, and immature.” He turned to face him, his cheeks red under the moonlight, and forced himself to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “But that was— amazing. You’re amazing.” 

For a second all Oikawa could do was stare at him. His heart skipped a beat. Sometimes Iwa took him by surprise and completely overwhelmed him. Oikawa grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him into a kiss, urgent and hungry and full of a love that couldn’t be put into words.

They broke apart, hearts pounding and breaths heavy. Iwa smiled, his breath warm against Oikawa’s cheek as he chuckled. When their gazes met there was mischief in his eyes. “It- was kinda hot, too.”

“Iwa, you sly dog!”

“Just shut up and kiss me again, idiot.”


End file.
